USA: Ex-student files sexual-abuse lawsuit against New Hampshire prep school

Posted on 13 May 2018 by Boarding Concern

A former New Hampshire boarding school student says in a lawsuit the school violated her civil rights by failing to protect her from sexual assault in a “hypersexualized environment” where older students scored points for having sex with younger ones.

The lawsuit , filed Friday in federal court in Concord, New Hampshire, claims officials at St. Paul’s School failed to report the sexual assault of a freshman during the 2012-13 school year. The student said she was forced to leave the school following bullying and retaliation.

The president of the school’s board of trustees, Archibald Cox, said the school plans to cooperate with police and the state attorney general to investigate the matter.

“We take these allegations very seriously, but do not know whether they are accurate or not,” Cox said in a letter to the school community. “In my experience this administration has taken all reporting obligations seriously and has fulfilled them.”

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Jane Doe, a former student who was 13 years old when she enrolled in 2012 and now lives in Maryland. It demands a trial and damages for severe emotional distress.

“From the time she arrived on campus, Ms. Doe experienced unwelcome sexual advances from some male students who were emboldened by formal and informal ‘tradition’ at the school,” the lawsuit says. “Unbeknownst to Ms. Doe, older boys started to sexually target her the moment she set foot on campus.”